Croy Gulch

Croy Gulch

When I started Kindergarten, my family had temporarily settled into a tiny shack on the Klamath River in Northern California. The house was just off the road, so there was always a lot of action going on beyond our doors. This was Croy Gulch. My parents made their...
World Headquarters

World Headquarters

The original Farm Chicks office was located in the corner of my laundry room. It was October of 2002 and Teri and I had just held our very first sale, in my friend’s barn, just a short walk from my house. I had a strong feeling that The Farm Chicks needed to...
On Suffering, Kindness, and Perspective

On Suffering, Kindness, and Perspective

The year our fourth boy was born threw me for a loop. The three youngest were all in diapers, one had colic, and I had mastitis. I remember the day I made it in to the Doctor’s office for the baby’s first checkup and being berated by the receptionist for...
My Giving Tree

My Giving Tree

Dear Sis, I thought of you today. Happy Mother’s Day. And not just because you’re a mom. But because of what a mom you were to me. You know, for all those early years. My brother, sister, and me. Early 1970’s. Remember the year you made me a birthday...
The Homecoming Queen

The Homecoming Queen

In fourth grade, my family settled into a tiny cabin in the woods outside of Yreka, California. Yreka had a JCPenney department store downtown and lovely fashions like leather and wooden clogs that were all the rage at the time. Yreka is small town America. Where...
Kindness

Kindness

Sometimes when I start thinking about the things in life that are difficult, I’m reminded of those people in my past that have shown incredible kindness. People that I can only aspire to be like. I think about the Hughes brothers who were “neighbors”...